Despicable Them
by KatieDibbs124
Summary: It's been one month since Gru saved the girls from Vector and it's time for school to start.  However, not all the girls are excited to be back in school and Gru is determined to find out why.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

It was well after midnight and the lab was quiet. All the usual hustle and bustle of the lab had ceased and was replaced with the snoring minions. However, a light still shined in one of the corners of the lab where Gru was currently sitting. He sat there silently gazing at the blueprints for the rocket he had built to take him to the moon.

'_I can't believe a month has passed since den,'_ Gru sighed heavily remembering the incident and how he was able to accomplish his life-long dream of reaching the moon and how he was able to rescue his daughters on the same day. It had been a very happy day in his life, and yet here he was staring at the blueprints feeling somewhat unfulfilled.

He knew now that nay heist he attempted would only pale in comparison with stealing the moon. Now, what would he do next? Gru sighed heavily at this thought, but was brought out of his thoughts when he heard someone coming down to the lab.

'_Who could be up a dis hour?' _Gru thought to himself, when Margo appeared in the doorway of the lab. Her worried eyes scanned the lab clear with the intention of searching for someone. It was only until her eyes landed on Gru did her worried gaze soften. And she hurriedly walked over to his desk.

"Margo, what are you doing out of bed at dis hour?" Gru asked her, concern obvious in his voice. "Is everything alright with you?"

Margo nodded, "I just couldn't sleep. I looked in your bedroom, but you weren't there. Then I went downstairs and I still couldn't find you, so I thought you might be down here. And it looks like I was right." Margo finished quickly giving him an uneasy smile.

Gru didn't miss the unease in her voice when she was telling him she couldn't find him. He knew that she still was afraid that he was going to leave, even though he tried to show her that he was there to stay forever. Trying to hide his guilt, Gru continued.

"You know, you shouldn't be up at dis hour. You start school tomorrow, no?" Gru didn't need to remind her because she knew as well as he did that school began tomorrow. '_Ugh…school. What a horrible institution that keeps me from knowing whether my daughters are protected or safe for a six whole hours!' _Gru thought to himself, smiling slightly as he realized he liked thinking of the girls as his daughters.

"Oh, I know. I guess that's why I couldn't sleep. I mean school's never been easy for Edith and me. And with Agnes starting her first day tomorrow, I guess I'm just a little scared. For her, you know," Margo quickly added the last bit trying to convince Gru that she was merely scared for her younger siblings and not for herself.

"Well, maybe dis year will be different. A lot has happened since the end of last year, yes? You are practically all grown up, you are going to be in the 5th grade dis year after all," Gru added taking note of Margo's speedy and quick responses.

"I guess…" Margo answered.

"Don't worry about school so much. Everything will be fine!" Gru said, trying to cheer her up a little. "And if everything is not fine, I will make it that way."

Margo chuckled a little at this comment. "If you say so, Mr. Gru."

"You do not believe me?" Gru responded, trying to mask his disappointment that Margo still insisted on calling him by such a formal name. "I promise that if everything is not perfect at school, I will do everything in my power to make it that way." Gru held out his pinky. The girls seemed to take pinky promises more seriously than anything else. And he could see that Margo seemed to believe him some more after he held out his pinky for her to squeeze.

"Okay," Margo smiled slightly at him.

"Now, I think it is time for both of us to be in bed, do you not?" Gru said as he stood up and walked with Margo towards the door to the lab. Margo nodded and yawned as they headed upstairs.

Before entering her room, Margo turned around and gave him a hug. "Thanks, for you know, listening. It means a lot." She smiled before she let go.

"Anytime, Margo. Now, into bed or you will never be able to get up tomorrow. I will see you in the morning," Gru smiled at his eldest.

"Goodnight, Mr. Gru," Margo said quickly as she jumped into her bed.

"Goodnight," Gru replied, as he quietly closed the door behind him.

'_I don't know what it is about this school that has Margo worried, but I will make sure to find out,' _Gru thought to himself as he headed down the hall to his own bedroom. '_Nobody will hurt them again, I will make sure of it.' _Gru thought as he quickly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Breakfast was quiet. Margo was eating her pancakes completely lost in thought. Edith was not at the breakfast table this morning because she was still fumbling in her room searching the floor for her lost boot. And Agnes was staring at her pancakes.

Gru, sensing the tense atmosphere, tried to break the silence by calling for his middle daughter, "Edith! You should have found everything you would be needing for today yesterday! Hurry down here so you can eat your breakfast."

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Edith replied. "I just need to find my other boot."

Gru sighed and then directed his attention to his youngest. "Agnes, what is wrong with your pancakes? Are dey no good today?"

Agnes whipped her head up and looked at him with teary eyes. "I don't want to go school today!" Agnes sobbed and ran over to her father who was by the stove.

"Why? What is de matter?" Gru's forehead creased in worry as he bent down to his smallest as she cried her eyes out I front of him.

"What if the –hic- kids don't like –hic- me.? What if –hic- they are mean –hic- to me?" The last word seemed to be drown out by the sound of her cries.

Gru was momentarily shocked by the small girl's outburst. Gru was still relatively new to the parenting game and he wasn't quite sure what he should do. Hesitantly he reached his hand to comfort the small child. "Agnes, c'mon, it will be okay." He picked up the small child and hugged her tightly trying to soothe her sobs that had started to subside into small sniffles on his shoulders.

"De other kids are going to love you. And if dey are not, den you don't have to go dere anymore. Now, no more crying," Gru finished. "You're a beeg girl now, right?"

Agnes sniffed away the last of her sobs and nodded. Gru put her back on the floor, "Now, go finished your breakfast before we leave for school." Agnes nodded and hurried back to her place at the table to finish her pancakes. Gru turned his attention back to the lunches he was making for the girls before he realized that Edith was still upstairs.

"Edith! Do not make me come up dere. I want you downstairs this instance," Gru called upstairs as he finished putting the last sandwich into a brown paper bag.

"I'm right here. Jeez, you don't need to yell," Edith replied as she walked into the kitchen to quickly eat her breakfast.

"Good, now hurry up and eat most of your breakfast. We will be needing to leave in five minutes," Gru said to her before turning his attention to Margo, who had been surprising quiet through the entire morning. "Margo, is everything alright? You seem awfully quiet dis morning."

"I'm fine," Margo replied. "Just tired I guess."

"If you say so," Gru said not entirey convinced that was the problem. He looked at the clock on the wall and realized it was time to leave. "C'mon, girls, it is time to leave now. Get your lunches and backpacks and get into the de car." Gru grabbed his black jacket and striped scarf and headed towards the door.

"You girls have everything you will be needing for today?" He reminded them one last time before locking the door. The girls nodded and headed for the car.

Gru looked in his rearview mirrored as he headed in the direction of the school. Edith was teasing Agnes about how horrible school was. Agnes was currently holding her hands over her ears as Edith insisted the lunch ladies feed the smaller students to the dogs. Margo, however, just stared blankly out the window. This sight concerned Gru even more. His oldest was completely ignoring Edith's taunts and didn't try to stop Edith from teasing her baby sister. '_I am thinking I will need to keep my eyes on her for a while,'_ Gru thought before he told Edith to stop teasing Agnes. It wasn't long after that until they arrived at the school. '_Here, we go,' _Gru thought.

"Alright, let's go girls," Gru said as he put the car into park. '_Let's get this day over with,' _Gru sighed as he and the girls headed toward the school.

* * *

That's the end of chapter one. I know it's kind of slow at first, but I promise that it will be more exicitng. Please drop a review if you can!

~KatieDibbs


	2. Chapter 2

Hi, everyone! I just want to thank all of the people who reviewed. I'm glad to see people are reading and liking the story so far. I just wanted to give a heads up that even though this story is currently rated K+, I might be changing the story later on to T (depending on how dark I want to get XD!). Again, thanks for reading!

* * *

**Chapter 2**

The walk from the car to the front doors of the school seemed to go by slowly. Gru could feel the eyes of the teachers and parents who were standing around the school. He was used to their intimidated stares and even welcomed them, which was publicly displayed by the smirk on his face. The girls didn't seem to notice the stares of others or they had gotten used to them by now because they hadn't looked bothered by them at all. Edith and Margo walked in front of Gru who was currently holding Agnes' hand. She seemed to clutching onto his hand tighter and tighter the closer they got to the doors.

"Gurls, why don't you head up to your classrooms while I take Agnes to her classroom?" Gru said to Margo and Edith. "I will be waiting outside for you. Have a good first day." His gaze lingered on Margo a little longer than usual and he noted a sense of fear in her eyes.

"Okay, Dad, see you after school. C'mon, Margo, let's get this horrible day over with," Edith sighed as she ran up the stairs to her 3rd grade classroom.

"Bye, Mr. Gru," Margo said softly as she followed her sister up the stairs to her classroom.

Gru then continued down the first floor corridor towards Agnes' kindergarten class. He stopped at the door with a large label that read "Welcome to Mrs. May's Kindergarten Class!" Through the glass, Gru could hear the children screaming and playing. '_How is any person able to stand dat screaming for longer than 5 seconds,' _Gru thought to himself before turning his attention to Agnes.

"Alright, Agnes, are you ready to see your new classroom?" Gru said as he knelt down in front of Agnes, who still clutched his hand tightly. She shook her head showing her disapproval. "I know dat it may be a little scary at first, but it may turn out to be very fun."

Agnes seemed glued to the spot.

"But, I want to stay home with you!"

The small girl's sudden declaration warmed Gru's heart and he felt bad making her go to school. He wanted to take her home with him badly, but he knew that school would eventually be good for her, even though he didn't understand why at the moment.

"I wish that you could be coming home with me, too. But, I think you might end up liking dis class, don't you want to give it a try?"

Agnes shook her head no and squeezed his hand tighter showing her determination to stay by his side. Gru sighed and marveled at her stubbornness when he saw a small girl in the classroom who was holding a similar unicorn doll to the one Agnes was holding in her hands now. Gru had gotten all the girls something special to start the new school year. For Margo he got a new book, for Edith a new pink hat (very similar to the one she already wore), and for Agnes a new unicorn toy.

"Agnes, dat gurl over dere has de same unicorn doll as you have," Gru said pointing to the small girl who stood in the middle of classroom. "I think she may be looking for a new friend, no?"

Gru suggested to Agnes who looked curiously into the busy classroom. Agnes nodded her head in agreement even though she continued to stand next to her father.

"Why don't you try to go over and talk to her?" Gru asked the small girl, whose grip was starting to loosen on his hand. Slowly, she let go of his hand and walked cautiously toward the girl in the center of the room. Gru watched Agnes approach the girl. When she reached the center, the other girl looked down at the doll in Agnes' hand and instantly started babbling about how amazing her doll was and how awesome unicorns are. Agnes immediately brightened up and started shouting excitedly at the girls responses.

Before they ran off to play Agnes turned towards Gru and shouted at the top of her lungs back to him, "Bye, Dad! See you after school!"

Agnes giggled as she chased after the other girl. Gru smiled to himself before he turned around and left the school. He headed toward his car and headed towards home.

Gru opened the door to his house and was greeted by a cold silence. He hadn't realized that he had gotten used to all the noise that the girls usually made. The now unusual silence bothered him. It reminded him of when he first returned the girls and he didn't like it.

He quickly put the breakfast dishes in the sink and headed down to the lab. He needed to get somewhere that wasn't so quiet. The lab was bustling and Gru instantly felt relieved as he heard the sound of the minions talking and working.

"Gru!" Dr. Nefario called as soon as he saw Gru walk into the lab.

"Ah, Dr. Nefario, what is wrong?" Gru asked noting the urgency in the doctor's voice.

"While you were taking the girls to school, someone tripped the security alarm. "

"Were dey able to get in?"

"I looked at the security tapes and it seems that our perpetrator never had the intention of breaking in. He also left this on the front steps."

Dr. Nefario handed Gru a rock with a note wrapped around it that said, "Get ready, Gru. I'm coming to get them." Upon closure examination the rock that the note was wrapped around wasn't a normal rock.

"He's back, Gru. And I think he's going to try to get his revenge on you," Dr. Nefario said.

"We must be prepared. Make sure all the minions are on alert," Gru stated very quietly. "When he gets here, we will be ready for him."

* * *

That's the end of chapter 2! I hope you all enjoyed it. I know this chapter was shorter than the last chapter, but I promise the next chapter will be longer!

~KatieDibbs


	3. Chapter 3

Hi, everyone! This chapter is a little longer than the previous chapters. I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

**Chapter 3**

When Gru finally left the lab, his mind was filled with worry. He looked up at the clock on the wall. '_It's only 1. I still have to wait another hour and half before I can get them. What am I going to do until then,' _Gru sighed to himself. Suddenly the phone rang, surprising Gru. People rarely called his home phone, other than his mother and she never called this early in the day.

"Gru residence," Gru answered the phone coldly.

"Mr. Gru?" The person on the other end asked cautiously.

"Who is dis dat is calling?"

"This is Principal Belleview from Central Elementary School," the voice replied evenly.

"What is wrong?" Gru's mindset immediately went into defensive mode. "Are de gurls alright?" Gru demanded harshly.

"Yes, the girls are fine. However, earlier today we did have an incident involving your daughter, Edith, and another student. I need you to come in so we can discuss the incident."

"Incident?"

"Ah…Yes. I believe it will be better though if you come in. That way Edith can explain to you herself what happened. Don't you agree?"

"Of course, I vill be right dere," Gru said before hanging up the phone. He called down to Dr. Nefario and told him where he was going and that he wouldn't be back until after school was let out.

During the ride over to the school, Gru's mind wandered from concerns over Vector and what Edith could've done. He couldn't have gotten there faster. He just wanted to make sure that she was okay, both physically and emotionally. He wanted to be sure no harm of any kind plagued her.

He quickly walked through the school's large doors for the second time that day. As he reached the principal's office, he spotted his middle daughter sitting on a bench outside the principal's office. Her pink hat was pulled farther down her head than usual. Her arms were crossed and she had a big frown on her face. Her eyes were closed as she slouched in her seat. She was so lost in her apparent aggravation that she didn't even notice her father approach her.

"Edith, are you okay?" Gru looked concerned when he saw how upset she looked.

"Dad! " She exclaimed, as she jumped up from the bench to give him a hug. "Did the principal call you? Are you mad at me?" She looked a little worried as she asked the last question, when she finally realize why he was in the school.

Gru didn't have time to address her answer because the door to the principal's office opened and Ms. Belleview emerged.

"So you're the cause of all the commotions, Mr. Gru," she said not entirely serious. "Shall we continue this discussion in my office?"

Gru and Edith followed Ms. Belleview into her office and sat down in front of her desk.

"Well, thank you for coming in Mr. Gru. I know this probably how you didn't expect your daughter's first day to end and neither did. I haven't had a chance to hear Edith's side of the story. But Edith's teacher did tell me one side of the story. According to her, Edith was found harassing and subsequently attacking another student, which lead to the other student getting a bloody nose, a black eye, and a split lip..."

"B-but, he started it," Edith blurted out in an attempt to defend herself. Ms. Belleview held her hand up in protest telling Edith to stop so she could finish.

"In your permanent file here at this school, it seems that every teacher you've had has written similar reviews about your behavior. They claim you are a deviant, a distraction, and an aggressive little girl who starts fights and tries to and I quote "talk your way out of things."

Ms. Belleview continued to read the comments Edith's previous teachers had written about her. Now Gru was still very new to parenting, but hearing this woman read all the horrible things other people said about his daughter made his anger rise. With every new comment his anger rose until he found himself clenching his fists in order to remain stoic. It wasn't until she finished that he spoke with great effort in order to control his voice.

"But she said dat he had started dis. She was only defending herself," Gru looked straight into her eyes with an implication that he would not waver in his beliefs. Edith looked at him with an open jaw. She forgot that she now had someone there to defend her and this thought made her very happy.

"I know that Mr. Gru and do not think for one moment that I feel she is lying. As I said before I haven't heard her side of the story and I wanted her to tell me while you were here as well."

At this point, Ms. Belleview turned her eyes toward Edith. The atmosphere she projected immediately changed. It had gone from a very profession and cold environment to one of comfort and understanding.

"Now, Edith before you begin your story, I want you to answer me a question."

Edith nodded anxiously.

"Why do you think I read to you what your other teachers taught you?"

Edith shrugged, "Probably to show that I have a pattern of aggressive behavior."

Gru was taken aback by the 3rd graders response. It seemed unlikely that she had made that up on her own, which meant that someone at some point during her education had said that exact phrase to her. Ms. Belleview smiled slightly, no doubt realizing the same thing that Gru had realized.

"I believe that's the exact phrase your current teacher said to you today when she brought you to my office."

Edith smirked a little before resting her head on her hand, which was currently propped up by her elbow on her leg.

"Well, it seems like you've been in that chair before," Ms. Belleview said thoughtfully. "So you of all people in this room know that I'm the new principal."

Edith smirked again, but made no effort to sit up straighter in her seat. However, Ms. Belleview continued.

"You're a smart little girl, you know that? I told you that to show you and your father that it seems your teacher has already made her opinions about you. I, however, do not want to rely upon the opinions of others."

Ms. Belleview looked at Edith, who seemed very confused.

"I want you to tell me what happened exactly so that I can determine what kind of student you really are. So, Edith, what happened today at lunch?"

Edith was still confused. She had never met a teacher who wanted to listen to her story and here was the principal who insisted on hearing her side. She seemed suspicious and started her story with evident caution.

"Well, the whole class was walking over to the café for lunch. I was minding my own business, when Tyler came up behind me and poked my arm and I told him to stop or I'd beat him up. He told me a sissy girl like me with no parents could never beat him up," she glanced up at Gru during this part, who looked down at her with cold, dark eyes, and then quickly pressed on with her story.

"I told him that that wasn't true and that I had a better dad than he could ever have and that he should watch his mouth because he might regret it. Then he started calling me a tomboy and continued to poke and annoy me. I started to walk faster to get away from him, but when I did…," she stood up on her chair at this point and exaggerated extravagantly with her arms what Tyler did. "…he ran up behind me and ripped off my hat. He ran around the playground and I chased after him to get my hat back because I never take my hat off. And when I finally caught up to him, he wouldn't give it back so I pushed him on the ground and took it back. He took it back first and I had too!" Edith said trying to convince both the principal and her father the necessity to push him. "Then, he jumped up and pushed me in a puddle and laughed at me. I ripped my pants and scrapped my knee."

She held up her knee to show them. Upon closer examination, Gru saw that her pants were very dirty and that her knee, even though the cut was bandaged, was red and would bruise. '_That leetle punk. I vill show him what it is like to reelly fall in a puddle,' _Gru thought to himself as his anger rose even more as Edith continued her story.

"Then I defended myself by punching him. I only hit him once and he fell back and bit his lip," Edith finished quickly trying to fit everything in one big breath.

In Gru's eyes, the little punk didn't get half of what was coming to him. He was very proud of his daughter for defending herself, but he made a mental note to teach her how to properly defend herself with the ray gun should this type of incident ever happen again.

Edith looked at the principal with pleading eyes, hoping the principal wouldn't yell at her.

"I think I've heard enough," Ms. Belleview started. "It seems like you were forced to hit him. He started taunting you and took your hat against your will. No student should touch another student's property. It seems to me that you were only defending yourself. Your teacher made it seem that you purposefully attacked this boy. But, it doesn't seem that way to me. Now, I cannot agree with you hitting him, but I am willing to give you a warning today, considering it is our first day."

"Why are you being so nice to me? All the other teachers and principals have yelled at me and given me detention for a month," Edith explained to her.

"Well, let's just day that I used to be in a similar situation that you're in now," she said as she showed Edith a picture of three small girls. The girl on the left was a blond girl and looked to be the oldest, the girl in the middle had bright green eyes and a green hat covering her brown hair, and the smallest girl on the right had black hair and a big smile. "These are my sisters and the little girl in the middle used to be me. I used to be the troublemaker and I was constantly getting into fits. I just wish when I was in school I had someone to listen to me like I listened to you."

Edith smiled brightly at the principal.

"Now, go back to class. School's almost over for the day, but remember, if anyone, including your teacher, gives you a hard time, come straight to me and I'll help you out, okay?" Ms. Belleview smiled as she looked down at the small girl who had brightened up immensely since she first entered her office.

"Now, off to class and no more fighting," she shouted as Edith ran out of the door.

"Okay! See you after school, Dad," Edith shouted back as she ran back up to her classroom.

Gru felt a little uncomfortable sitting in the office since Edith had left. He stood up abruptly and turned to address the principal.

"Thank you for being so understanding with my Edith," Gru said in his thick accent to the woman, who stood up abruptly. He turned to leave, but was stopped when he heard her speak.

"Wait, Mr. Gru. I just thought you'd like to know that along with seeing Edith, I believe I also saw your oldest….uh….Margo, is it?" Ms. Belleview said as she finished riffling through her papers.

"Yes," Gru said his voice heavy with his accent.

"Well, I saw her in the nurse's office today and she looked like she had been crying. I am not sure what happened, but she seemed pretty upset. I just thought you might want to know."

"Thank you for informing me. I vill see dat Margo is better tomorrow. Thank you for your time," Gru said curtly as he walked out of the office.

Gru felt both anxious and proud when he left the principal's office. He was very proud that Edith was able to defend herself successful. He always knew that she was a tough little girl, but this proved she wasn't just talk. She had power to backup her words, and this made him very happy that he smiled to himself. However, when the principal had told him that Margo had been crying, he couldn't help but feel worried. His oldest rarely showed emotion and for her to have cried something bad must have happened. Maybe there was something about school that she didn't tell him about. Whatever it was you can bet that he was going to find out what. He walked down the long hallway relieved that the school day was nearly over. He couldn't wait to have the girls back home with him where he knew nothing could harm them.

The school bell rang loudly signaling the end of the school day as he walked out of the school's doors. He decided to wait for his girls to come out in front of the school. '_One day down…'_ Gru thought to himself as he stood and waited for the girls to come out.

* * *

End of chapter 3! I hope that everyone enjoyed it. I appreciate all the comments I receive from everybody. I'll try to update the next chapter soon, but with classes resuming tomorrow I may not be able to update until the weekend.

~KatieDibbs


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